Yanoman Co., Ltd. (headquartered in Taito-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Chuji Yano) and Japan Art Media Co., Ltd. (JAM; headquartered in Adachi-ku, Tokyo) are launching a crowdfunding campaign as part of their joint project, the "Aretha Reunion Project – I Want to See You Again," which aims to revive the "Aretha" role-playing game series (three Game Boy titles and three Super Famicom titles) originally released by Yanoman between 1990 and 1995.
The campaign starts at 9:00 PM on July 15, 2026 (Wed) on the crowdfunding platform CAMPFIRE and runs through 11:59 PM on August 31, 2026 (Mon), using the "All-in" method, under which rewards are delivered to supporters even if the funding goal is not reached.
What Is the "Aretha Reunion Project – I Want to See You Again"?
The project was announced on March 13, 2026, described as an effort to reunite with the long-dormant world and characters of the "Aretha" RPG series, and with fans' memories of it. Since then, a number of these "reunions" have already been realized. This crowdfunding campaign is a new step toward bringing that vision further to life.
Background Behind the Project
Everything began with a single phone call in 2024. As a member of the hobby department was planning an event to mark Yanoman's 70th anniversary, reconnecting with people who had worked on the series back then quietly set preparations for Aretha's revival in motion.
Later, in August 2025, the event "Shin Yanoman Legend – Aretha Special" brought about a reunion with longtime fans. In November of the same year, a search for the illustrator behind the "Aretha II" instruction manual, launched via social media, led to renewed contact with many people who had been involved in the series at the time. In March 2026, the official launch of the "Aretha Reunion Project – I Want to See You Again" was announced.
Having seen fans who continued to love and talk about "Aretha" even more than 35 years later, and moved by a series of coincidences, the team came to feel they needed to find a way to realize the wish to "meet again" together with those fans.
What This Project Aims to Achieve
- Preserving a Fading Legend
The "Aretha" series, originally released for Game Boy and Super Famicom more than 35 years ago, will be made playable in its original form on modern platforms including Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Steam. "Aretha COLLECTION 1993-1995," compiling the three Super Famicom titles, is already confirmed for release on July 30, 2026. The campaign aims to also realize "Aretha COLLECTION 1990-1992 (tentative title)," compiling the three Game Boy titles.
- Official Aretha Jigsaw Puzzles at Last
Despite being a long-established jigsaw puzzle maker, Yanoman has never released an official "Aretha" jigsaw puzzle. The project aims to bring the series' beautiful visuals to life as premium-quality jigsaw puzzles for a new era.
- Responding to Fans' Passionate Support
The project will produce a newly drawn manga booklet by manga artist Yoshitoo Asari, along with an official "Aretha" art book packed with the series' world.
- Compiling the Official Aretha World Document, "ARETHA World Core"
Rather than being completed by the official team alone, "ARETHA World Core" will be compiled by filling in the "unfinished spaces" left in the official story with fans' own interpretations, weaving a shared history together. Supporters can have their names (pseudonyms allowed) listed on the official website (aretha-online.com) as registered residents taking part in the project.
- Looking to the Future
As a first step, the project envisions producing a new anime (OVA) and a new drama CD; as a second step, a new YouTube anime series; and, as its ultimate goal, an all-new game title for all platforms.
Reward Tiers
The following support tiers are available for this campaign (expected delivery for all tiers: around August 2026).
Title Support Tiers 1-6: ¥30,000 to ¥70,000
Covering the three Game Boy "Aretha" titles and the two Super Famicom titles plus a side story—six titles in total—these tiers include a set of the supported title along with key in-game characters. These are the only tiers that come with the game's title logo.
Character Support Tiers 1-12: ¥10,000 each
Supporters choose one character to support from a list including Reverse, Famis, Zoppy, Jeff, Fang, Torasa, Kyle, Mard, Daraha, Todd, Zoppi, Yuno, Minel, Arke, Treno, Kyu, Maiki, Vace, Toto, Mirlo, Gicchi, and more.
Stretch Goals
Reaching each of the following funding milestones unlocks additional "Aretha" reunion content for supporters.
| Amount Reached | Content Unlocked |
|---|---|
| ¥10,000 | A thank-you message (emailed to all supporters) / Aretha Kingdom resident registration (supporters' names displayed with character icons on a newly planned website) |
| ¥1,000,000 | A new manga booklet by Yoshitoo Asari (sent to all supporters) / an unreleased scenario, "Howard War Chronicle Fragment: Remnants of the Magic Doll" (PDF sent to all supporters) |
| ¥5,000,000 | A limited-edition reunion T-shirt (free size; mailed to all supporters) / a "Rejoice" strategy guide (sent to all supporters) / a Yanoman rare footage collection on DVD (sent to all supporters) / a passport issued by the Aretha Kingdom (mailed to all supporters) / an unreleased scenario, "Magic Doll Memories Fragment: The Glass Promise" (PDF sent to all supporters) |
| ¥10,000,000 | Production and sale of an official Aretha jigsaw puzzle / production and sale of an official Aretha art book / release of a new casual Aretha game app on the App Store and Google Play Store (all supporters credited in the staff roll) |
| ¥30,000,000 | Release of an official Game Boy game reissue (Aretha / Aretha II / Aretha III) for Nintendo Switch, with other platforms under consideration / a set of supporter character can badges (sent to all supporters) |
| ¥50,000,000 | Production of a new Aretha anime / production of a new Aretha drama CD |
| ¥80,000,000 | Formation of the ARETHA Production Committee, an organization for co-creating Aretha together with fans rather than a simple operating body / a new Aretha YouTube anime series, with the launch of an official ARETHA Channel (tentative name) |
| ¥100,000,000 | A new Aretha game title for Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox, Steam, iOS, and Android, with all supporters credited in the staff roll |
Planned Schedule
| Timing | Content |
|---|---|
| August 2026 | Thank-you message |
| August 2026 | Aretha Kingdom resident registration |
| October 2026 | Unreleased scenario: "Howard War Chronicle Fragment: Remnants of the Magic Doll" |
| November 2026 | New manga booklet by Yoshitoo Asari |
| December 2026 | Limited-edition reunion T-shirt |
| December 2026 | "Rejoice" strategy guide |
| December 2026 | Yanoman rare footage collection (DVD) |
| December 2026 | Passport issued by the Aretha Kingdom |
| December 2026 | Unreleased scenario: "Magic Doll Memories Fragment: The Glass Promise" |
| December 2026 | Supporter character can badges |
| Spring 2027 | Official Aretha jigsaw puzzle |
| Spring 2027 | Official Aretha art book |
| Spring 2027 | New casual Aretha game app |
| Summer 2027 | Official Game Boy game reissue (Aretha / II / III) |
| Under consideration | New Aretha anime (OVA) |
| Under consideration | New Aretha drama CD |
| Under consideration | Formation of the ARETHA Production Committee |
| Under consideration | New Aretha YouTube anime series |
| Under consideration | New Aretha game title |
Crowdfunding Overview
| Project Name | Aretha Reunion Project – I Want to See You Again |
| Campaign Period | July 15, 2026 (Wed) 9:00 PM to August 31, 2026 (Mon) 11:59 PM |
| Platform | CAMPFIRE |
| Organizer | Yanoman Co., Ltd. and Japan Art Media Co., Ltd. (JAM), joint project "Aretha Reunion Project" |
| Use of Funds | Production of merchandise, animation production, game software development, and more |
